Warnings Issued that the Cafe is Subject to Demolition, Yet Renovations Were Underway: Details

Today, the cafe located at the back of the Yerevan Metro's Youth Station was demolished. About a week ago, during a council meeting, the chair of the council's land use and urban planning committee, Nvard Vardanyan, addressed the issue, noting that the city’s urban planning and land use department had ignored the illegal construction and had not taken any action regarding it. She announced that she would be persistent until the end, demanding that those who supported the cafe's construction using state mechanisms be held accountable. Writes 'Hraparak.'

At the time of our filming, there was no one from the city hall at the cafe's location, nor was the cafe owner present. The director of the already demolished cafe was at the City Hall. We learned from one of the construction workers at the site that the cafe had been rented out to another person for operation.

“Despite the warnings that the cafe was subject to demolition, we were still carrying out renovation work. After about 15 days of construction, when we finished, they came and demolished it today,” one of the workers told us.

Acting head of the information department of Yerevan City Hall, Levon Sardarayan, also spoke with us, stating: “The owner of the cafe received several warnings to independently demolish the illegal structure at his own expense. However, he ignored these warnings, which is why the cafe was demolished today by the relevant department of the City Hall. By the way, after the demolition, all consequences, including cleaning works, must be carried out by the cafe owner.”